


what a flammable heart i've been given

by goinghost



Series: location - blupjeans week 2018 [5]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Getting Together, author doesn't know anything about chemistry but she's trying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-05-16 04:06:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14804030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goinghost/pseuds/goinghost
Summary: The thing about Lup was that she knew chemistry.--Lup blows things up. Barry blows up. Somehow a date comes out of all this.





	what a flammable heart i've been given

**Author's Note:**

> my fic for blupjeans week day 5: high school au! i've had half of this written forever and i finally just wrote the rest of it because i thought it it the prompt well
> 
> this'll be the last fic i have for blupjeans week! i was too stumped to come up with ideas for the last two days haha
> 
> title from 'location' by freelance whales like all of my blupjeans week fics

The thing about Lup was that she  _ knew  _ chemistry. 

She was in the advanced class for a reason. She knew what she was doing. Her G.P.A was climbing by the day and she made sure her answers were heard.

Which didn’t explain why, every time they had a lab that could conceivably be fucked up, she fucked it up. 

Barry and Lup had been lab partners for just over two months now, and he’d already ruined three shirts from whatever exploding mixture Lup had decided to make that day. He’d taken to keeping an oversized and overstained shirt in his locker for those special days that Lup decided to forget everything she knew about chemistry and really just wreck Barry’s shop. 

He knew she was doing it on purpose and she knew that he knew that she was doing it on purpose and every time Barry had tried to bring it up with her the conversation had gone nowhere. It was a lot of Barry stutteringly trying to ask her what her problem was and Lup saying something flirty to distract him and turn him too red to continue. 

The thing about Lup was that she was always flirting with him.

And he knew—he  _ knew  _ she didn’t mean it because he was Barry “Bluejeans” Hallwinter and she was  _ Lup _ and there was no way she regarded him with anything bordering on serious interest when she hung out with people like Magnus Burnsides, who was friendly but also way out of his league. 

But chemistry. They had chemistry together. And Lup really liked making things explode. And Barry was finding it increasingly hard to stay mad at her for it. 

Today, she’d ruined his favorite pair of jeans. He’d worn them because he was having that kind of week and he figured he deserved a treat for himself. Lup’s...concoction had started bubbling and, laughing, she’d accidentally pushed it into his lap. He’d had to take one of those chemical showers and change into his gym shorts. His jeans were stained directly over the crotch and there was definitely no way he’d be able to get it out. 

So he’d waited by her locker after school in order confront her about it before he felt his anger deflate. Lup  _ was  _ going to be held accountable for what she’d done, what she was constantly doing. He wasn’t going to lose steam, he refused. 

Lup strolled down the hallway towards where Barry was standing over the locker she’d decorated with little flame decal stickers. “Barold,” she said, nodding at him. 

“Lup,” he cleared his throat, “Lup, we have to talk.”

“Hmmm?” 

“You can’t—you do this thing that—it just needs to stop.”

“I don’t know what you mean, Barold.”

“The thing—in chemistry. When we have chemistry together you—”

Lup winked, “I think we have chemistry together too, babe.”

“No,” Barry ignored his burning ears, “No, you aren’t going to—to flirt your way out of this one. I need you to listen to me for once.”

Surprisingly enough, that seemed to shut Lup up. She nodded as if to say that she was listening. 

“You need to stop being so reckless. You can’t keep acting like chemistry is just a class where you blow things up! I’m—I’m tired of it!” He breathed, “I’m tired of coming home with my clothes ruined or my assignments all messed up because you decided that chemistry was going to be your playground. I know you can do better! I’ve seen your test grades, and it’s not exactly a secret that you’re incredibly smart. You  _ know _ chemistry! So why do you insist on destroying everything with it?”

Lup was staring at him. Barry felt himself retreating back into his head, back into  _ oh my god I just ruined whatever semblance of friendship we had.  _ He cleared his throat and turned away, “Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow.” He started walking to the back of the school so he could leave and walk home. 

“Wait, Barry,” Lup said, reaching a hand out and snagging him by the shoulder. 

“It’s fine, Lup. I just have to go.” 

“Let me drive you home.”

He paused. That did sound nicer than walking. It had been raining last time he’d checked, and a quick glance out the window made it clear that it hadn’t let up. Okay. “Okay,” he said. 

Lup smiled at him and led him to the student parking lot where her beat up red Prius sat nearer to the school’s entrance than Barry had expected.

Inside, the Prius was a mess. There were clothes piled high in the backseat and trash everywhere. Barry counted seven empty fast food cups scattered about that were all varying levels of full. Lup watched him stare at the junk covering her car’s floor and had the decency to look apologetic. “Sorry, Taako and I share this car and he’s an absolute disaster. He never cleans it, and there’s no way I’m cleaning his mess for him, so it all just festers.”

“It’s—fine.”

She nodded and got behind the wheel, pulling out of the parking lot and flicking on her windshield wipers. They sat in silence and listened to the sound of the rain for a few seconds before Lup said, “Look, I know I’m not always the best lab partner. I do know chemistry, you’re right, and I use all the shit I know to mess with Jenkins because he’s the worst chemistry teacher on the planet and I hate him. I guess I wasn’t thinking about how my pranks and stuff messed with you. I’ll try to be better about that from now on.” 

There was more silence. Barry wasn’t sure how to respond. He wasn’t used to getting exactly what he wanted. “Okay,” he said after a moment, “Thank you.”

Lup smiled at the rain coming down in sheets against the windshield, “Least I could do.” She pulled up to his house and Barry didn’t even have time to question how she knew where he lived before she turned in her seat and said, “Hey, Barry?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you want to get coffee together sometime?”

“Do I—? I—uh, yeah! I mean—yes, yes I do,” he spluttered. “Coffee with you. Sometime.” That was not what he’d been expecting. 

“Cool! How’s tomorrow after school look for you?” She looked like she was enjoying the way his face was burning. 

“Yeah—yes. Perfect. Sounds perfect to me.”

Lup reached over him and unlocked his door. She hovered over him for a moment and leaned down to whisper in his ear, “It’s a date then.” She cackled as he felt like he was going to melt straight through the seat. 

“A—a date then. Yeah. Cool.” Barry tried to even out his voice, but it warbled all over the place. 

“You gonna go inside, babe?” Lup laughed, “Or just wait out the rain in the car with me?”

Barry scrambled to undo his seatbelt, “No—no I’m going. Thank you for—uh—for the ride. See you tomorrow.” He grabbed his backpack off the car floor and opened the door, the rain cold on his skin. 

Just as he was about to leave the car for good, Lup sprung up and grabbed his shoulder, “Wait,” she said, pulling him down and giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Okay, now you can go.” 

And Barry spluttered some more before practically floating back to his house, watching the Prius out of the corner of his eye until it, and Lup, pulled away and down the street. 

He sighed as soon as he got inside. His sisters were waiting for his mom to get off work to pick them up so he was home alone. No one could hear how lovesick he felt. 

Lup was really something.


End file.
